VOICE OF CIVIL RIGHTS PROTEST -- BETTIE MAE FIKES

This Conversation

In this interview, aired on Apr. 10, 2024, Bettie Mae Fikes, known as "The Voice of Selma," tells her story of the Civil Rights struggle she lived in the 1960s. As a young girl, she sang in marches for the right to vote, the right to ride a bus, and the right to basic freedoms. She remained non-violent in the face of horrible cruelty, simply because her skin was black. She was jailed and kept in jail when she refused to say "Yes, sir" to the judge.

Bettie Mae was a strong young girl and resisted the inequality she was confronted with, but the lingering pain of her experience is evident in this interview. Yet she doesn't turn back and continues her march to college campuses to make sure that the younger generations know the struggle for simple things they may take for granted.

The conversation took place by phone shortly after she visited Emory & Henry College in April 2024. You will hear her break into song as she has always done.

Bettie Mae Fikes is perhaps the most notable historical figure to have been a guest on This Conversation. It was an honor to talk with her, and if you share this podcast, you'll be helping ensure that we don't forget the struggle that Black Americans had -- and continue to have -- for equality.